Album Review: Given Free Rein - In-Ear Trip

With some heightened post-punk and indie rock, Given Free Rein aim to make headway with their debut record “In-Ear Trip.” Every band with a debut record has a chance to show why they should become the next talked about artist of their genre and with this record it will definitely garner some attention in their field.

If you look at the genre of post-punk from its broad perspective, is that its a subgenre, which you get those strong influences in this album from top to bottom. Opener “Magnetic Fields” invokes a lot of the trippy style elements from prog rock/psychedelic rock as well, especially with the vocals. Whilst the vocalist sounds somewhat bored of his own lyrical content, the songs on this record work really well with that vocal style. That point is exemplified with “Love Pigs” as the verses go on a faster/harder route which lets you hear their energetic tones within singing.

Whilst nearly all the tracks are relatively short, it really helps with their style of post-punk feeling due to how other-worldly their instrumentation is. The first few tracks follow the same music structure but as it progresses, their chances to experiment and produce something to please your senses are higher. The slow tempos intertwined with the bombastic distortion on the guitars are something enjoyable and even add to the melodies that are given their own time to shine. “Vein of Light” does this in spades being the longest song on the record.

For their debut record, Given Free Rein has come out swinging and whilst it might not be the cult classic that will always be with certain bands, they’ve set themselves a bar to reach for their next musical endeavour. It might not be the A* you come across, but the record still brings something to enjoy.